My Christmas story

When I was a little kid, one year we had a live Christmas tree. It was small, but alive! And therefore more interesting. We decorated it but not too much, and strewed the presents around it, and it was different and fun that year.

Afterwards, we planted it in the front yard. I even helped dig the hole although I was too small to be of any great use. I got to learn about evergreens, and about planting trees, and I got the cool lecture about how big trees come from small plantings.

Twenty years later, the tree towered over the house in the front yard. Finally achieving its true purpose, it reached down with one long sinewy taproot and ripped out our sewer, costing us thousands of dollars and tremendous frustration and inconvenience.

And that’s my Christmas story.

lyrics du jour

the girls won’t touch me ‘cause I got a misdirection
and livin’ at night ain’t helpin my complexion

DON’T NEED A CURE
DON’T NEED A CURE
DON’T NEED CURE NEED A FINAL SOLUTION

overheard dialogue: the Days of Vans

Karl*: Yeah, so my big brother had one of those vans, a 1974 Chevy Van with the big block engine, slicks on the back, carpet in the interior, the whole thing.

nickjb: Did he have Humble Pie’s Rockin’ the Fillmore on 8-track? All of those guys did.

*Karl is a fiftysomething divorced aerospace engineer who hangs out at the coffeehouse a lot. He is a nice fella and has entertaining stories at times.